New Shoes

Every day at work when the weather is nice my feet are comforted by a pair of tennis shoes. My father taught me when I first started to travel as a salesman that it was best to bring two pair of shoes with you. Feet sweat, the inside of shoes get wet and if one rotates a pair each day both sets will last much longer.

So I have done this my whole working life in whatever type of work I have done. There are two pair of tennis shoes I rotate for Spring, Summer and Fall and two pair of more weather appropriate shoes durable for our Michigan winters. It so happened that both pairs of my tennis shoes wore out at the same time this Spring and were replaced by another two that cost twice as much as the old ones.

One of the old pair was still good enough to use around the yard until I did some power washing for a few hours last week and then they needed to hit the trash. Today, not wanting to spend a lot for a replacement pair to use in the yard, I went to the nearby Menards and got a slick pair for about $42. After the rebate - $38! If they last only through next year I will be happy.

Today I also started a new blog which is called - For Ex-Catholics Only

Having walked in the shoes of someone who has left Catholicism I understand that there is an awful lot of misdirected and unnecessary hate and suspicion directed toward both the Catholic Church in particular and Catholics in general. My theology has changed, it is quite different in many important ways from that which is taught in the Catholic Church, but I know many Catholics who love our Lord dearly and who live lives that reflect that love.

As a working guy I don't really have enough time to create new material for two blogs and so from time to time I am going to post there links to some of my old posts that hopefully will offer instruction and encouragement. In pursuit of that I have been going through some of the posts of my II Timothy 2:2 blog from some years ago.

Keeping with the Catholic theme, here is a post from 4/15/07 which gives my thoughts about praying to the saints and Mary and is called:  Saint Tifying Grace

P.S. So far the new shoes feel great. I'd let you know how they work in the yard but it's really hard to have two blogs and yard work.

August Dream

last night i woke
in the middle of a dream
looked out my window at an awesome scene
a million stars clumped bright way high
fireworks bursting across the sky
there were meteors streaking just everywhere
the large white moon was round and fair
all i could do was watch and know
that i was not this evening's show

how small am i
how grand the scene
how very vast is everything
one wonders if we even try
to contemplate the where and why
or take the time to sit and stare
humbly before him our souls lay bare
we do not need to always go
the night says wait and take it slow

Bus Stop Lady

I wanted to ask the lady
with the plunger
in her hand
from whence she came
or where'd she go
to unplug that stubborn can

She looked to me
a little homeless
and kinda lost as well
it seemed her hair
was three shades off
her age I couldn't tell

But there she was
just standing there
not far beyond the bend
a rumbled bag
a wooden pole
with that bright red rubber end

There are days in this world
that come and go
one layer upon another
as cars wiz by
we never know
our sister and our brother

Each has a story
some are sad
but every one unique
we cannot see
inside the soul
but sometimes get a peek

So as we passed
the plunger gal
my driver gave a clue
her mother's birthday
was today
she lost her mom at two

It happened when
at twenty five
having nothing more to lose
choked on her vomit
one sad night
caused by the drugs and booze

Her best friend
killed herself one day
bullied on the net
the creep then posted
glad you're dead
I too would be upset

But life goes on
it's twists and turns
as each one tries to cope
some end up unclogging
all that crap
and that's what gives us hope

I wish they knew
the One I know
to help them through the day
there is so much more
that's bright and fresh
and so I nod and pray

Dear Father
shine Your light through me
and help me love like You
and remember from whence
I came before
to do what You would do

It Will Hail When The Forest Comes Down

Here are some verses I had underlined in my Bible some time ago but felt led to share today.


Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high,

And the wilderness becomes a fertile field,

And the fertile field is considered as a forest.


Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,

And righteousness will abide in the fertile field,

And the work of righteousness will be peace,

And the service of righteousness quietness and confidence forever.


Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation,

And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;


And it will hail when the forest comes down,

And the city will be utterly laid low.


How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters,

Who let out freely the ox and the donkey.  Isaiah 32: 15 - 20


Isaiah prophesies above about the coming of Messiah. He will restore all things including the land but in that restoration there is to be judgment. The sense here is not just about land. It is also about restoring the hearts of man.

I find in these verses an application for revival. Indeed it is my prayer that the Father would pour the Spirit out upon us and our land in a new and powerful way.

When the Spirit is poured out the wilderness becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field is considered as a forest.. There is a transition here, from wilderness to fertile field, but then again from fertile field to forest. So what's up with that?

I see the wilderness as being our society. It has institutions, forms and structures, cities and village, all intertwined with the lives of the men and women who make up the whole.  The fertile field is the potential of the changed heart of man when the Spirit is poured out.  When the hearts of men are changed the land that we live in becomes that much less a wilderness.

But even though we see the promise of justice dwelling in the wilderness and righteousness abiding in the fertile field we also see the fertile field becoming a forest. Sure, one can grow things in a fertile field and one of those options could be trees, but what a waste.

The forest represents the pride of man. Hail represents the judgment of God. The city represents where ever it is that men live together in their pride. Revival will come when the Spirit of God lays low the pride of man, when the trees of the forest are stripped of their branches and the land and the people can be truly ready to bear the fruit of the Spirit. And it will hail when the forest comes down, and the city will be utterly laid low.

Look at the wonderful promise that ends the chapter. There is a prohibition in the Old Testament about plowing with an ox and donkey yoked together. Plowing is work and plowing with those two together would be like almost impossible work. And yet what is the picture we see? It is not one of plowing, of putting in a lot of work for little return. The animals are let loose, the seed is sown, a good return is promised. How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters. Who let out freely the ox and the donkey. 

Last week while driving I noticed a very faded bumper sticker. All the color was gone but you could still make out the outline showing the World Trade Center with the words, "Remember 911".

A 16 year old girl that I tested this week spent part of her summer visiting family who lived just outside New York City. One day they went into the city and this girl was very excited to have gone to the top of the new building(s) that replaced the ones destroyed by the terrorists back in 2001. I asked her if she was able to go through the 911 museum at the bottom and the answer was no. I was surprised because that didn't seem to be something that even interested her.

But of course, just like the irony suggested by the faded bumper sticker this young driver had no direct memories of that fateful day. Her mother, riding along in the back, told me exactly where she was and all about an uncle who worked at the Trade Center but was home sick that day and an aunt who worked in the city and had to walk all the way home that night. For her and for me this was more than recalling an event that happened 14 years ago. The images and emotions were seared into our memories.

Many felt that the events of 911 would permanently change the psyche of the average American. Our country was attacked, we felt first hand and up close what it would be like to be at war with radical Islam, something most knew little of and cared about even less. For the first couple of weeks attendance at churches soared and all news outlets ran story after story, video after video of what had happened.

The World Trade Center, The Pentagon, and the last intended target that ended up in a Pennsylvania field, the White House, were all symbols of American pride. They represent our financial system, our military and our political process. We have been blessed in all three areas but we must remember that blessings can be removed as quickly as they are given.

We pray for revival, but what might that mean? When the hail comes it will destroy forest and city. Perhaps, if the Lord delays, something is needed for a true national revival. And sometimes, revival comes, and then the hail. What ever, here is the promise if the Spirit is poured out, and it is good;

And righteousness will abide in the fertile field,

And the work of righteousness will be peace,

And the service of righteousness quietness and confidence forever.

Hush Little Baby

Hush little baby don't you cry
daddy's gonna sing you a lullaby
and when that lullaby is gone
daddy's gonna tell you a sad sad song

Tell me little child what you're worth
even if we didn't see your birth
they bid on your parts and found a price
over a lunch that seemed so nice

You might have been a fab poet
writing our thoughts so we'd know it
you might have sung a happy tune
and we'd be dancing from dawn till noon

Oh dear sweetie where did you go
they said you were nothing but how did they know
several more months and the sun would've shine
but for you there was never time

Hush little precious one two three
tossed in the trash so no one'd see
out of sight and out of mind
but your tiny spirit lives on in time

Shuss my honey don't be sad
if your mommy knew you she'd be glad
maybe in the darkness she couldn't cope
but you had potential and so much hope

Hmm Hmm Hmm now quiet dear
you'll never have a worry or a fear
um um um our song is done
waiting for the judgment's that bound to come

Eight Ball, Side Pocket

My favorite elementary school teacher had to be Sister Mary Kenneth who taught 8th grade and was principle at St. Francis de Sales school. She stood about 5'1", wore the full black and white habit, and one enduring memory is having watched her get mad at 6' tall, 200 lb. Mike Fink.

I had never even seen Sister Mary Kenneth get upset before but when Big Mike had the audacity to talk back to her one day the transformation in our sweet little nun was amazing. She picked up her ruler and headed straight for Mike. Big Mike actually screamed and ran away. After 3 laps around the classroom, Sister Mary Kenneth's robes flowing behind her, Mike still yelling, he found the door to the hallway and made his escape.

At that point we thought the good Sister was going to have a heart attack. She sat down on one of the students desk chairs trying to catch her breath. Mike was back in class the next day, not another word was said about it and no one ever again tried to talk back to our dear leader.

Another memory of mine about Sister Mary Kenneth, apart from her wrong prediction that I would one day end up in politics, is a story she told our class one day. She was talking about a saint so and so. When he was young and a seminary student he was playing pool with a few other seminarians.

The question came up about what would you do if you knew that you only had 2 hours to live. One of the boys said he would immediately get down on his knees and pray. Another said that he would head straight for church and have the priest hear his confession. A third talked about writing a letter to everyone he had wronged to ask their forgiveness.

Saint so and so had a different kind of answer. He said that he had already taken care of his business with God and so he might just as well keep playing pool.

Some years later, long after Sister Mary Kenneth was gone, I returned to that class room and gave a talk to the students. I told them that everyday for years I would sit in a desk just like theirs, look up at the crucifix hanging on the front wall and yet never realized that when Jesus died on the cross it was actually for me personally that He died. That only came after I had graduated from a Catholic college, having been an atheist my entire time there.

One night at one of our family prayer meetings our Aunt Virginia shared about a scripture that she said changed her life. She had been a believer her entire life, studied the Bible constantly and taught Sunday school for many years. She had a brother who was a minister, another brother (my father-in-law) who was a very popular Bible teacher who had also introduced her to the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Virginia was reading from the 6th chapter of Romans where it says:

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

There is a lot more before and after this in Romans to the argument that Paul is making about who we are in Christ Jesus, all leading to the great statement in Romans 8: 1-2;

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Aunt Virginia had spent her whole life striving to be the best Christian she could be. The problem with that, even though she had no doubt concerning her salvation, is nothing she ever did seemed to be enough. While reading that passage in Romans it finally became clear to her. Even though she was still living in the same fleshly body and her soul struggled with doing what she could to be good, her old self was truly dead. She was in Christ Jesus and nothing could change that.

This thought was liberating. It didn't mean that now she could now go out and live a carnal life. That was never her desire. It did mean that if she fell short everything was still OK. The Father loved her, Jesus had saved her, the Holy Spirit was working in her life and would do so as long as long as she was willing to listen.

There are a lot of people just like my Aunt Gin. They know and love their Lord and Savior, are good parents, spend time in prayer and in the Word, are the first to reach out to others in their time of need and give of their own time and talents to serve the local church. But the tactics of the enemy toward the believer are just the same as they have always been.

The enemy does not want there to be peace in our hearts; 'It is not enough, you know how weak you really are, there is another level of experience that you are missing.'

The enemy wants to fill us with religious pride; 'They really need you here, no one else can do this the way you do, you work harder than all the rest.'

The enemy wants to replace being led by the Spirit with good sounding but carnal religious actions; 'Follow the 12 step path of Christ to the center, repeat this written prayer 3 times a day, this is the formula for blessing.'

I am a weak person but I do know that Jesus has redeemed me, changed me, and given me newness of life. Like saint so and so I have settled my business with God. There will always be more that He desires for me because of His great love for me and so when I am willing He gently takes me by the hand and leads me on.

Life will always be busy. It will always be crazy. The enemy will always lie to us and cheat because that is his nature. I had only one shot but that's all I needed and I'll call it for you right now. I have been baptized into the death and resurrection of my Christ Jesus and He has given me new life. Take that enemy! Eight ball, side pocket, game over.

Greek Fire

The other morning I was standing in my shower, happily singing in tongues to a tune that reminded me of liturgical singing, and I thought that I would sing out in English as the Spirit led me.

The night before I had been wondering about and researching what the possible consequences would be to Greece defaulting on their debt and how I should be preparing for a chain reaction that might effect our economy and banking system.

At church the day before that I sat behind a pastor I knew whose wife is Greek and they had just returned from a vacation visiting family in Greece.  While they were there people were only allowed to withdraw a maximum of 67 dollars U.S. per day from their bank accounts. The economy of Greece is only about the size of Alabama's, 2 per cent of the Eurozone, but they have a huge debt they cannot pay and there are several other European countries with unsustainable debt loads waiting in the wings. If the dominoes start to fall a banking crisis could lead to other continents and then to the U.S. in a very short time.

This is what the Lord led me to sing in English:

"There are ways that seem right to man.

There are ways that are right to God."

Pretty simple huh? It would have been nice to have gotten more but that's all that seemed right.

The thought was pretty much what I had read in Proverbs the night before and perhaps that was the connection my brain or my spirit or both were making:

The plans of the heart belong to man,

But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.  (Proverbs 16:1)

The financial crisis in Greece did not just happen over night. The country is run by stringent communist who have for years paid for all the wonderful benefits they provide for the population through borrowed money. Eventually they could not afford even the interest payments and their creditors have demanded that they make major concessions such as reducing benefits so they can have the means to pay what they owe. The communist government actually has a lot of potential assets because they own just about all the major industries as well as a lot of swell property but the hard liners do not want to privatize or to encourage a capitalist system that would develop anything for a profit.

The tactic for the Greeks now and for their socialist brethren in other countries including America is to ignore the fact that debts ultimately do need to be paid and instead ask the creditors how they can do something so awful to all those poor people in Greece. But the day to pay up has come and whatever happens from here out will not be pretty.

There will come a day when the U.S. will have to pay up. Apart from our tremendous current debt (over 18 trillion and growing) and our future unfunded social promises (100 trillion by conservative accounting, or over 200 trillion by global warming type accounting) we have a shrinking per cent of the population working (67.4 per cent compared to 70.9 per cent in 2008) to support an ever increasing per cent of the population that receives government benefits (i.e. there are now over 47 million getting food stamps).

How do we make up the difference? Well, we can reduce spending but that won't happen in today's politics until there is a major crisis. We can increase taxes (not for you and me but for the rich. When the majority votes to take more money from a small minority I call that stealing but politics calls it "fairness") We can grow the economy, get more people working in the private sector and thus paying taxes. But then some people might get rich and that's no good. So,you guessed it. We make up the difference by borrowing more money.

If a number of countries get caught up in this current debt crisis and countries start to pull out their money from U.S. banks things could quickly get ugly here. I am not saying it is going to happen soon but I am saying that things do not always stay the same and the wise thing is to think things through so that you will have a plan and not need to panic when and if the time comes.

What makes me wonder is that there have been major setbacks in the markets aligned with a major Jewish feast in the fall of 2001 and the fall of 2008. This fall marks the end of another 7 year period and is also the end of the series of blood moons and eclipses happening in the last 2 years.

What also makes me wonder is that I sense a tidal shift of anti Christian feeling. Although I pray that it will lead to revival and to a greater maturity for the current church I can also see a further falling away from orthodox beliefs and an oncoming persecution for those that hold fast to Biblical truth.

Pastor Craig Miller wrote a blog post on May 30th which had a quote from the retired Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Francis George, a theological conservative within the Roman Catholic Church who was not afraid to express his views on issues from abortion to the gay rights movement. "He often expressed concern over what he believed was the eroding of religious liberty in the U.S."

Cardinal George died on April 17 and here is a statement he made before his death.

"It is likely that I will die in my bed. My successor will die in prison. His successor will die executed in the public square."

George goes on to see the Catholic Church eventually picking up the pieces of a broken society and I see rather the second coming of Jesus but I was struck because we both have the same concern. Social norms are rapidly changing and the government and courts are and will heavily penalize those who express opposition.

We are not yet to the point where mobs will drag us out of our beds because of our Christian beliefs but we are naive if we believe that it could never happen here. Just this week I read a political article shared on FB which used these interesting phrases to describe certain presidential candidates: "Religious tribalism", "Folksy nonsense about Jesus", "Dark Ages version of Christianity", "prehistoric ideas on social issues" and "ugly bigotry toward the LGBT community". To you and me those thoughts may seem far to the fringe but to a lot of the younger population in our country this is what they hear day in and day out and it is gospel.

What is surprising is not that the world does not agree with traditional conservative Christian beliefs but that those who say they value tolerance are less and less tolerant toward Christian's who do not remain silent in word or deed. And they seem to be getting more emotional about it. But I guess this is what should be expected, isn't it?

So what should we do if there is a banking crisis, or a food shortage, or riots in the street?

The plans of the heart belong to man,
But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

I can tell you from personal experience that no matter what happens God is in control of our lives and we need to learn to pray like we've never done before, search the Word for wisdom daily and trust, trust, trust that God will provide and see us through. The worse things get the more we will gain by giving and sharing what we have. The more crazy the world gets against the truth of scripture the more we need to proclaim it in love. Cast your cares upon the Lord and even in the midst of the storm He will give you peace.

Remember,

There are ways that seem right to man.
There are ways that are right to God.